Need suggestions on powerful amp for cheap

What would be the best route to take in order to get the biggest, deepest sound for the least $?
Currently my 10+ year old SVT-3 head and peavey 8X10 aren't quite gettin 'er done. I'm looking to buy a sansamp preamp and then the most power for under 1000$. I like a really deep low punch as well as the clear highs, and the least distortion possible. What brands and models should i look into for the most pure volume and power to blast my sans amp through?

Also: Is there anything wrong with running a sans amp preamp through just a power amp (like a behringer europower) and then through say a 1X15 and 4X10 cab?

If you are getting the rackmount Sansamp you would be wasting your money on a head. You should connect a preamp to a power amp. My suggestion for value is the RMX series from QSC. You could get about 1000 watts for $400, maybe less.

Some people here will probably recommend the PLX series but they cost more. The PLX series is much lighter than the RMX, and I believe that is the only reason they cost more.

You can get a used Stewart 2.1 in the 6-700 dollar range on eBay (that's 2100 watts in bridged mono mode). The Carvin's aren't bad, but they're probably not quite the rated power either ('course if we're talkin' two kilowatts, a few hundred watts more or less probably isn't going to matter).